"Yes, we still have to go to work tomorrow, right? After resting for so long, my bones are all lazy. It'll definitely be a bit difficult to adjust on the first day back to work. Let's prepare the vegetables first, and we can start cooking them right away after work tomorrow afternoon."
"Yes, that's right. You also prepared some dry rations?"
I had a good impression of Wei Shujuan and Su Hong; they were simple and willing to talk more.
They came last year just before the autumn harvest, so the food preparations were rather rushed. This year, they have plenty of time, and she and Su Hong are cooking separately. Having experienced the autumn harvest, they have adapted to rural life and should have their own plans now.
Sure enough, Wei Shujuan smiled generously upon hearing this.
"Yes, it's steamed dry food. I just dug up a lot of wild vegetables a few days ago, so I mixed them in."
When I get home from work, if I have the energy, I'll make some wild vegetable soup. If I'm too tired to move, a bowl of hot water will do the trick. I've managed to get through these busy days.
He nodded simply, offering a seemingly unintentional reminder.
"Yes, although it's not as tiring as the autumn harvest, it's still hard work. It would be even better if it were a bit oily, as oil makes you stronger."
According to Li Yan and the others, these two women lived a pretty good life. They weren't as careless as Wang Hongmei and the others, nor were they stingy and unwilling to spend anything. They had a good balance between work and leisure and knew how to manage their finances.
They shouldn't be as poor as they are.
Wei Shujuan clearly knew this as well, and nodded repeatedly upon hearing it.
"Yes, that's for sure. Although we have to work all year round, spring, summer and autumn, the most tiring times are spring and autumn. If we really wear ourselves out, then it's not worth it."
"Um,"
Seeing that she had listened, he didn't say much more, took the child, and left.
"You go ahead with your work, let's move forward a bit."
Several educated youths came out of the courtyard, carrying basins, seemingly to wash clothes. Jian Dan ignored them and turned to walk forward. Jian Xin, however, glanced back and was startled, quickly turning her head back.
"Sister, what's wrong with that sister? Her eyes look like she's going to eat someone alive."
He glanced back briefly and met Chen Hongli's somewhat resentful gaze. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to carry a hint of jealousy. The moment their eyes met, Chen Hongli's gaze trembled, and she quickly looked away guiltily.
"It's okay, ignore them."
After thinking for a moment, he added another instruction.
"Don't get too close to those people you don't know, and don't eat anything they offer."
Don't blame her for thinking too badly of people; when people are pushed to a certain point, they are capable of anything.
They are currently eating the grain they borrowed from the village a few days ago, and they have to endure the strange looks from the villagers and educated youth. Soon they will have to start hard labor again. When they are exhausted, hungry, or angry, who knows what they might do.
She didn't want to gamble with human nature.
"Yes, if a stranger gives you food, they're definitely trying to kidnap Xin Xin and sell her."
Um?
Although she didn't know where she'd heard it from, it was probably just a child's way of being cautious, so she didn't expose it.
"Yes, and the food might also contain sleeping pills. You'll pass out as soon as you eat it or smell it."
"Huh?" The child immediately tensed up, clenched his little fists, and puffed out his cheeks in anger.
"Why are you so mean?"
Jian Dan didn't feel at all that it was wrong for her to expose the dark side to her child. She believed that the world was real, and the situation she described was not impossible. It wasn't a bad thing for her to make her child more vigilant.
The short walk from the educated youth compound to the Liu family's house allowed me to briefly teach the children about safety along the way, which also opened a door to a new world for them.
It turns out the world isn't all good.
The Liu family had finished eating. The old man was repairing farm tools, and Liu Guangming was sitting in the yard weaving a basket. The old lady and Sun Xiang were not seen; they must be inside the house.
The old man smiled as soon as he saw the two sisters come in.
"What brings you two here? Have you finished eating?"
"After we finished eating, Xin Xin wanted to find Xiao Hua, so I came along."
The old man laughed heartily.
"Go on, Xiaohua is inside. She's so obsessed with your comic books that she won't go out to play."
The little girl glanced at her older sister, greeted the old man, and ran into the house.
"Sister Xiaohua, Sister Xiaohua..."
Jian Dan didn't follow him inside. She just wanted to get some mushrooms and wasn't in a hurry. She sat down in the yard and looked at the tool the old man was hammering in his hand. It was a fork, which would be perfect for turning the soil tomorrow. However, the five-pronged fork was now down to three prongs. Jian Dan didn't ask, "It's so bad, can it still be used?"
Having been here for almost two years, she has seen quite a few tools in the countryside. To be honest, there aren't many that are fully functional. Even the sickles are mostly dull and chipped. Before each use, she would carefully sharpen them on a whetstone for half a day to make them barely usable for half a day of harvesting.
Even so, these are all treasures of the village.
Farm tools are easy to buy, but iron ones are difficult to find. Not only do you need industrial coupons, but iron products have been scarce in recent years, and private blacksmithing is not allowed. As for the supply and marketing cooperatives, they are out of stock nine times out of ten.
Not to mention, it's practically impossible to get industrial vouchers in rural areas.
When Jian Dan arrived, she brought industrial coupons and bought some commonly used farm tools at the county supply and marketing cooperative. However, she only used them at home. She mostly used this kind of pitchfork, except when turning the soil in spring and when harvesting potatoes and sweet potatoes in autumn. Moreover, she basically just followed the aunties and picked them up. She didn't really pay much attention to the tools.
However, the autumn sickle is quite familiar.
"Third Uncle, are all the tools in our village like this?"
The old man seemed quite content.
"That's right. Let me tell you, Weimin and his buddies were quick back then and managed to snatch these back. Otherwise, we wouldn't even have these."
Okay, since you've put it that way, I really don't know what to say.
The little girl went inside, and the old lady called out from inside.
"Xiao Jian, come inside."
"Hey, coming,"
She got up easily, thinking about whether she should go to the commune to find Cheng Yuanshan another day. She started to miss the driver who sold her the iron pot from the steel factory.
"Why didn't you come in? What could you possibly have to say to that old man?"
The little girl came and immediately sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), huddled together with Xiaohua, chattering away, not even looking up.
The old lady was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing clothes, watching Jian Dan with a smile.
"Tomorrow when you go to work, will Xin Xin come with you, or stay at home?"
It's okay for her to stay at home for a while, but if she's alone for too long, the child definitely won't be able to handle it.
"I was thinking of letting her come with me; I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her at home alone."
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